-
Dad has passed
Just got word that dad passed away. No details yet on where, when, why, other than he had been traveling at the time.
-
Spring is sprung, a walk around the property
I went for a perimeter walk around the property - all 15.4 acres of it. That’s a bit over a kilometer of fairly rough terrain - I really should brush-hog it off before the saplings become trees and the wild rose bushes become even more impenetrable brambles. Still, with all the rain and plenty of sunshine, it’s a riot of growth out there. My ( Read more... ) -
Some futureology thoughts from a conference
I just attended a set of presentations by various network industry security experts on the future of networking, security, and network convergency. I.e. how, in the future, to use a specific example by one speaker, how your smartwatch, thermostat, social networking analysis of what your friends are eating, medical records, refrigerator monitor, ( Read more... ) -
How do you measure the brightness of a polished metal surface?
How do you measure the brightness of a polished metal surface ( Read more... ) -
Got the press home and in the shop
My birthday present to myself this year is a hydraulic forging press, something I've wanted for a couple of decades but could never really justify the expense for.
Today, I picked up the press, got it off the truck (about 700 lbs), moved it in the shop, though it still needs to be moved to its final location. Moving the press off the truck was the ( Read more... ) -
Nanog Baltimore
I'll be at NANOG Baltimore on Monday, if you'd like to catch me I'll be manning the Carpathia booth until 11:30, then panels and the social afterwards. Anyone else going? -
Research trip to the Met pics
I was up in NYC last weekend, I went to the Met's arms and armor gallery, took a good look at some swords and got some good pics as research for some projects.
( Pics and commentary below ) -
New knife, slicer with hamon
Steel is W2, there's a nice hamon there, hard to see in the photos but quite evident in real life. Handle is macassar ebony. This is the first knife heat treated with the new molten salt pot heat treat setup I built.
( Read more... ) -
Powered makita sharpener troubleshooting.
Anyone know motors? My Makita sharpener has a custom 560rpm 1.1 amp motor, which usually has plenty of torque, but suddenly the speed and torque dropped to the point where it can't do the job anymore, and the motor housing gets very hot. Pic attached of the insides. I'd like to fix it if possible, but replacement motors aren't available, assuming ( Read more... ) -
latest knife: W2 small chef
After a few failed attempts at getting a hamon with W2, I think I have it. It's a small chef's knife, about 6" of blade, cord-wrapped handle (stage tie-line), ground to x16 then hand polished to bring out the hamon. I made this one on the winter solstice, after a similar design failed during heat treatment (ping of death during the quench.)
( Read more... )
